Concerns in MSAD 22

In a letter to the Bangor Daily News, published Nov. 10, the chairman of MSAD 22, Ralph Thompson, stated, “Our district, like many other districts throughout Maine, is feeling the effects of reduced state funding to support general purpose aid to public education.”

It is interesting to note that the figures from the MSAD 22 annual budget report don’t show a decrease but an increase from the state. Under revenue categories (State Basic Allocation-Foundation and State Debt Service Aid), the total figures for the 1994-1995 are $7,397,226.53 and for 1995-1996 it is $7,423,761.96. That is an increase of $26,535.43.

The citizens and taxpayers of MSAD 22 need to be concerned about the information that is being disseminated about the school budget from the school board. They should also be concerned about how wisely their money is being spent. Everyone wants quality education for all generations and responsible school funding. They want the elimination of all frivolous spending that would come under “waste, fraud and abuse.” No one wants to let teachers go or get rid of sports programs to save money,

What they want is faith in MSAD 22 expenditures and truth from the school representatives. Ed Brown Hampden